Top Essays USB Drive

This USB drive contains 100 of the top This I Believe audio broadcasts of the last ten years, plus some favorites from Edward R. Murrow's radio series of the 1950s. It's perfect for personal or classroom use! Click here to learn more.

I walked home recently laden with a shoulder bag, a FedEx carton, and a lunchbox, and struggled with my keys. On the street, a gentleman in an unmistakable brown hat passed me about half a block from my apartment building. I paid no attention until I stumbled down the steps in my front lobby and saw the same man – holding the elevator. He could have been back in his studio by now. But instead, here he was, pressing the “Door Open” button for me. I grinned, embarrassed, and stepped inside.

“What floor?” he asked, his hand hovering over the numbers.

I believe in holding the elevator.

In line at the grocery store, I usually send at least one text message. On the walk to work, my fingers typically pull up my morning emails on my phone. In an elevator, though, I choose to look up, to hold that “Door Open” button. That simple action can change someone’s entire day. It changes my day all the time. When I see someone turn and notice that another person is rushing towards a waiting elevator, and that person throws an arm to block the closing door, it reminds me that people are still aware of the strangers around them. I am daily bombarded with computers and smartphones and MMS and Gmail and Facebook, but honestly? Holding the elevator is the easiest way I can think of to stay connected to other people. It is the modern-day version of offering a cup of sugar to my neighbor. It is my way of saying, “I don’t know you. But let me lend you a hand.”

Things move fast. Often I get caught up in a flurry of work emails and bill payments; when I hold that “Door Open” button, I take a breath. I remember to breathe. I embrace the moment it takes to wait, to slow down. It brings me peace and simultaneously tells a stranger that they are worth a courteous pause.

My career isn’t going to let up – it will only get increasingly more intense. I will spend longer hours in front of laptops, and days at a time alone and hard at work on a 100-page project. I will ignore phone calls and pay no attention to crosswalk signs or solicitors on the sidewalk. But I will always hold the elevator.

Essay of the Week

On August 28, 1963, Benita Porter went with her mother to attend the March on Washington. It was during Dr. King’s spellbinding message of hope, love, and the universality of mankind that Ms. Porter was inspired by the belief that words—her own words—could arouse passion, change minds, and bring about social change. Click here to read her essay.

What Students Believe

Throughout the school year, young people around the world write statements of belief as a classroom exercise. And thousands of those students have submitted their essays to our series. Click here to read a sampling of what young people believe.